The Growth Caravan Tour aims to promote discussion and highlight EU issues in Finland's various regions. On Friday 25 September, the Tour will drop by Vaasa as part of a series of events. Discussion topics include investment, Finland's growth, employment and competitiveness policy, and its regional and structural policy.
The day also forms part of the Energy Union Tour of Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President of the European Commission. The energetic Vaasa is a natural stop on his tour of Finland, since EnergyVaasa is the largest energy cluster in the Nordic countries.
The purpose of the Growth Caravan Tour is to find answers to questions such as how to improve people's daily lives and promote the international competitiveness of regions. After Vaasa, the Caravan will stop in Oulu in November.
Why is Tekes participating?
Tekes wants to help generate new export businesses for growth markets. ”Among the spearhead themes, I would like to mention bioproducts, smart energy systems and resource efficiency. In addition, digitalisation is creating entirely new opportunities", says Teija Lahti-Nuuttila, Executive Director at Tekes. According to her, Finland is an excellent location for experimenting with and piloting innovative smart energy solutions.
”A fine example of this is the testing and piloting of smart grid technology in the village of Sundom in Vaasa, a joint project by ABB, the Vaasan Sähkö Group, Anvia and the University of Vaasa,” tells Lahti-Nuuttila.
The aim is to improve the reliability of the electricity supply and create the basis for using wind and solar power in local households. Demand exists for smart grid solutions all over Europe as well as in Finland.
Highlights of the programme
Citizens are invited to participate in a discussion with Maroš Šefčovič, Vice President of the European Commission responsible for the Energy Union, in the Levón Hall of the University of Vaasa. Teija Lahti-Nuuttila will convene a panel on the themes of energy and innovation. The panelists will include Members of the European Parliament Petri Sarvamaa and Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, among others.
The event will be open to the media. Discussions will be streamed live on the internet at http://vod.kepit.tv/kasvunkaravaani.html and discussed on Twitter with the hashtag #EUdialogues.
The afternoon seminar Global growth from the leading energy cluster in the Nordic countries will be held at Academill.
The Vaasa region is the home of the leading energy cluster in the Nordic countries, with more than 140 companies creating high-class technology for sustainable energy production and energy-efficient consumption. Large companies in the cluster are showing the way with market leading technology and new innovative solutions, while smaller companies contribute fresh ideas and huge potential for rapid growth. The business seminar will provide five growth companies with the opportunity to present pitches for their best ideas for the international market. In the subsequent panel discussion, the EU Vice President Šefčovič and leading cluster companies will discuss how the EU and Finnish energy policies support growth, now and in the future. Tekes' presentation will discuss innovations as a path to growth.
The seminar will be streamed live on the internet at http://vod.kepit.tv/kasvunkaravaani.html. You can also follow the event and share your views on Twitter with the hashtags #GrowthCaravan and #EnergyUnion.
In collaboration with
The event in Vaasa is organised in collaboration with the European Commission Representation in Finland, the European Parliament Information Office in Finland, Europe Information of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the Finnish Parliament's Information Office, Tekes, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy of Finland, the City of Vaasa, the Vaasa Region Development Company VASEK and Technology Centre Oy Merinova Ab.
For further information, please contact
Teija Lahti-Nuuttila, Executive Director
tel. +358 50 5577 873, teija.lahti-nuuttila@tekes.fi
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Communications Manager Soile Thalén, Tekes
tel. +358 50 5577 716, soile.thalen@tekes.fi